BURSTED FLUES.
Should any boiler attachment, such as a check-valve or blow-off cock, blow out or break off, no time should be lost in quenching the fire. That is the first consideration. A bursted flue will generally save an engineer the labor of extinguishing the fire. In this case an engineer’s efforts should be directed to reducing the pressure of steam as quickly as possible, so that he may be able to plug the flue before the water gets out of the boiler. Flue-plugs and a rod for holding them are very requisite articles; but, in driving flue-plugs, care must be exercised not to hammer too hard, or a broken flue-sheet may result. Plugs are often at hand without a rod to hold them. In such an emergency, a hard wooden rail can be used; the plug being fastened to the end by means of nails and wire, or even wet cord. Where no iron plug is available, a wooden plug driven well in, away from the reach of the fire, may prevent a bursted flue from leaking, and enable the engine to go along; but wooden plugs are very unreliable for such a purpose. They may hold if the rupture in the flue should be some distance inside; but, should the cause of leaking be close to the flue-sheet, a wooden plug will burn out in a few minutes.