KEEP PIPES TIGHT, AND PACKING IN ORDER.
In order to insure the regular and satisfactory working of a pump, care should be taken to prevent leaks about the feed-pipes or heater-pipes: the packing should be kept in good order, and the chamber-joints should be perfectly air-tight. During the outward stroke of the plunger, a vacuum should be produced inside the pump, into which the water rushes. If this vacuum gets partly filled with air or vapor, the working of the pump will be unsatisfactory. Nothing is so liable to produce this undesirable condition as badly packed glands or leaky joints. A poor pump can often be made to produce fair work, by attention and care bestowed upon its attachment; and lack of care will soon render the best-constructed pump unreliable.