GENERAL INFORMATION.
Never condemn an engine that is entirely new to you because it does not start off at your first effort. Study all the directions furnished by the maker. Perhaps you have overlooked some points that are of more importance than you imagine.
The above will apply to other machinery as well as engines.
When starting a new engine be sure that everything is in readiness. Turn it over by hand to see that all the revolving and reciprocating parts run freely. Start it very slowly under steam pressure and apply plenty of good oil. After it has run a short time and everything is working properly turn on more steam and continue to do so until the engine is running at its rated speed. To start it at full speed under steam pressure may result in great damage or totally destroy the engine.
An accurate machine which is thoroughly reliable is necessarily costly, but is of more value than another which merely serves a purpose.
Engineers or firemen in charge of a steam boiler should blow out the water gauge and gauge cocks every morning in order to remove the soft mud which settles in them at night when the boiler is at rest. If this is neglected, the soft mud may become baked in them which might lead to disastrous results.
Every steam boiler for whatever purpose employed, should be opened, cleaned, thoroughly examined and tested at least every six months, and with muddy feed water once a week would not be too often.
By blowing out the gauge cocks regularly you not only ascertain the height of the water in the boiler, but it prevents them from becoming choked with sediment or mud.
Do not allow the gauge cocks, glass water gauge or steam gauge to become filthy, as it shows lack of care, and furnishes evidence that the engineer who is not particular in this part of his duty is not reliable in others of equal or more importance.
Upon entering the boiler room in the morning an engineer or fireman should always ascertain whether the valves or cocks which connect the water gauge with the boiler are open or shut, otherwise he may be deceived by the appearance of the water in the tube. This precaution should never be neglected.
If an engineer or fireman discovers that there is too much water in the boiler he should blow it down to the proper level, but in doing so he must exercise judgment, vigilance and care, especially if there is a fire in the furnace.
Never allow the gauge cocks to leak at all when it is practicable to repair them, for the longer they leak the more difficult they are to repair, as under the escape of water or steam the metal wastes rapidly.
An engineer or fireman should often remove the ashes from under the boiler, or from ash pan; if allowed to accumulate, they retard the draft and interfere with combustion, thereby causing waste of fuel and interfere with the evaporating efficiency of the boiler. Also keep grates clear of clinkers; for if allowed to accumulate, they produce the same result.
Should it become necessary to blow down the water at intervals, the engineer or fireman should stand by the blow-off cock and not allow his attention to be diverted to anything else, as in a very short space of time the water may become so low as to induce stoppage or endanger the safety of the boiler.
Engineers should always be cautious when they stop or start an engine with a heavy pressure of steam in the boiler, as the vent given to the steam when starting, and the check it receives when stopping, may exert such a pressure as to strain, crack, or rupture the boiler.
The drip cocks in the cylinder should be left open when the engine is standing still, and they should not be closed until after the engine has been started and made several strokes or revolutions.
Do not open the throttle valve to its full extent in starting after the engine has been standing over night, as the quantity of steam condensed by being brought in contact with the cold pipe (particularly if it is a long one) may result in breaking the follower plate, springing the piston rod, or knocking out the cylinder head.
After opening the gauge cocks to ascertain the height of water in the boiler, they should be closed tightly to prevent leakage.
It may have been discovered that when gauge cocks are closed after being blown out, they leak badly; this is often due to the fact that mud or sand has become attached to the seat of the valve. The easiest way to remedy this difficulty is to open the cocks and let them blow out for some time, as the friction of the water in its escape will in all probability remove the obstacle.
Glass water gauges may be cleansed by removing the glass; then tying a piece of cotton waste or lamp wicking to a splint of wood, applying soap or acetic acid, and passing it through the inside of the tube; then replace the glass, and when steam is raised close the lower valve, open the drip cock, and the steam blowing through will wash the glass perfectly.
To cut a glass gauge tube.—If a glass gauge is too long, take a three-cornered file and wet it, hold the tube in the left hand with the thumb and fore-finger at the place where you wish to cut, saw it quickly and lightly two or three times with the edge of the file, and it will mark the glass. Now, take the tube in both hands, both thumbs being on opposite sides of the mark and about an inch apart, then try to bend the glass, using your thumbs as fulcrums and it will break at the mark which has weakened the tube.
Never touch the inside of the water gauge glass with iron or wire, as while the glass may be cut on the outside with a file, the slightest touch of steel or iron on the inside will cause an abrasion, the result of which is that the glass will crack and become useless.
Water gauge glasses frequently break because the steam and water connections are not in line, because the stuffing boxes are screwed down too tight, and sometimes in cold weather when struck by a cold draught of air admitted through an open door or window.
An engineer or fireman should never fill a boiler with cold water while the boiler is hot, as the injurious effect produced by contraction is similar to that produced by blowing out at a high pressure, and if persisted in will result in permanent injury to the boiler.
Exhaust steam will heat water to 212° Fahr. under atmospheric pressure.
Ten degrees extra heat in feed water means one per cent. saving in fuel.
Before blowing out the boiler the engineer or fireman should remove all the fire from the furnace, as a small quantity left in the corners, or attached to the bridge wall, might spring a seam or cause a plate to bulge.
Every engineer should know that unequal expansion and contraction is one of the evils which limit the longevity and endanger the safety of all classes of steam boilers; consequently the blowing out, the refilling, the starting of fires and the regulation of the draught should be done with judgment.
It is not necessary to fill a boiler with cold water above the second gauge cock, as the water expands under the process of the formation of steam and it will be found that there is a sufficiency of water in the boiler when steam is raised.
Single riveted seams are equal to 56% of the original strength of the sheet; double riveted seams are equal to 70%, and triple riveted seams are equal to 85%. Triple riveted seams, however, are very seldom used unless for some special purpose, as they are too heavy and thick, and would burn out rapidly if exposed to fire.
In making calculations on the strength of boilers, the factor 56 should be employed instead of 100, as 44% of the strength of the plate is lost by punching the holes for the rivets.
It should be understood that machine riveted seams in steam boilers are superior to hand made seams, as the machine thoroughly upsets the rivet and brings the two sheets in such close contact as to produce friction between the sheets at the lap, which of itself is an element of strength.
Boilers do not improve by standing idle; they will rust very rapidly.
Never use sharp chisels to cut the scale from boiler plate, as the cutting of the plate does more harm than good. Use only a light hammer.
In patching a boiler be careful not to make a pocket in which sediment may collect to cause another injury to the sheet and never put a steel patch upon an iron boiler as the two metals expanding unequally will induce trouble.
Never forget to allow for expansion when running long lines of steam pipe, whether for heating or power, as the neglect of this precaution leads to the formation of immense crooks or bends in the line of pipe wonderful to behold. There must be a slip joint somewhere in long lines of steam piping, unless expansion is allowed for.
Valves stick on their seats because they are frequently shut when cold, and when heated by the steam the valve stem becomes lengthened, and presses the valve hard into the seat.
Geiser Traction Engine—Right Side.
GEISER TRACTION ENGINE.
The cut opposite represents the right side of the Peerless, Side Crank, Rear Gear Traction Engine.
The main engine frame is of the girder pattern, and contains the guides and pillow block bearing. It also forms the front cylinder head, to which the cylinder is bolted. The cylinder is overhanging, and connected to the long feed water heater by the exhaust pipe.
The valve is of the piston type. The reverse gear is the Landis Patent Reverse and Variable Cut-off. It has the [Cross-head Pump] connected with a long Feed Water Heater, [Governor], [Injector], and the locomotive style of boiler swings in an iron frame, to which it is attached, and rests upon springs at both back and front ends.
The smoke stack is water lined, and traction wheels have wrought iron rims with high grouters and wood spokes. The platform has two steel tanks for water and tools, and the steering wheel and band wheel are on opposite sides of the engine.
Slide valves should be fitted to their seats by filing and scraping, and never by the use of emery and oil. The piston rod and valve rod may be packed with braids of hemp or cotton wicking, with rings cut from patent packing of various kinds or metallic packing.
To clean brass articles with acid is a great mistake, as with such treatment they very soon become dull. Sweet oil and putty powder followed by soap and water, is one of the best mediums for brightening brass and copper.
To frost brass work and give it an ornamental finish, boil the article in caustic potash, rinse in clean water and dip in nitric acid until all oxide is removed; then wash quickly, dry in box-wood sawdust, and lacquer while warm.
The best material for grinding in valves and stop cocks is pulverized glass. It is superior to emery for this purpose. Fine sand may be used.
To remedy a leaky angle, check or globe valve, it should be taken apart, and the valves ground to fit their seats properly with either fine sand, pulverized glass or emery.
A lever stuck between the spokes of the fly-wheel of an engine for the purpose of starting it, is a very dangerous instrument, it is liable to get caught and do a great amount of damage. If a lever is to be used, be sure that the steam is first turned off.
A cubic inch of water evaporated under ordinary atmospheric pressure is converted into one cubic foot of steam (approximately).
Steam at atmospheric pressure flows into a vacuum at the rate of about 1550 feet per second, and into the atmosphere at the rate of 650 feet per second.
Condensing engines require from 20 to 30 gallons of water to condense the steam represented by every gallon of water evaporated—approximately; for most engines we say from 1 to 1½ gallons per minute per indicated horse-power. Jet condensers do not require quite as much water for condensing as surface condensers. Surface condensers require about 2 square feet of tube (cooling) surface per horse-power of steam engine.
The best designed boilers well set, with good draught and skillful firing, will evaporate from 7 to 10 lbs. of water per pound of first-class coal. The average result is from 25 to 60 per cent. below this.
When you have your boiler furnace to repair, and cannot get fire clay, take common earth mixed with water, in which you have dissolved a little salt; use same as fire clay, and your furnace will last fully as long.
To make iron take bright polish like steel, pulverize and dissolve the following articles in one quart of hot water: Blue vitriol 1 oz., borax 1 oz., prussiate of potash 1 oz., charcoal 1 oz., salt 7½ pt.; then add one gallon of linseed oil, mix well, bring your iron or steel to the proper heat, and cool in the solution.
To write inscriptions on metal, take 4 oz. of nitric acid and 1 oz. of muriatic acid, mix and shake well together, then cover your metal surface to be engraved, with bees-wax or soap, write your inscription plainly in the wax clear to the metal, then apply the mixed acids, carefully filling each letter. Let it remain from three to five minutes according to appearance desired, then throw on water, which stops the etching process, scrape off the bees-wax or soap, and the inscription is complete.
To remove rust from steel.—Brush the rusted steel with a paste composed of ½ oz. cyanide potassium, ½ oz. castile soap, 1 oz. whiting, and enough water to make a paste; then wash the steel in a solution of ½ oz. cyanide potassium and 2 oz. of water.
A solvent for rust.—It is often very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to remove rust from articles made of iron. Those which are most thickly coated are most easily cleaned by being immersed in, or saturated with, a solution of chloride of tin. The length of time they should remain in this bath is determined by the thickness of the rust, generally twelve to twenty-four hours is long enough. The solution ought not to contain a great excess of acid if the iron itself be not attacked. On taking them from the bath, the articles are rinsed first in water, then in ammonia, and quickly dried. The iron when thus treated has the appearance of dull silver; a simple polishing gives it its normal appearance.
One of the best varnishes for smoke stacks or steam pipes is good asphaltum dissolved in oil of turpentine.
Iron or steel immersed warm in a solution of carbonate of soda (washing soda) for a few minutes will not rust.
Cement to fasten iron to stone.—Take 10 parts of fine iron filings, 30 parts of plaster of Paris, and ½ part of sal ammoniac; mix with weak vinegar to a fluid paste and apply at once.
Cement for joints.—Paris white, ground, 4 lbs.; litharge, ground, 10 lbs.; yellow ochre, fine, ½ lb.; ½ oz. of hemp, cut short; mix well together with linseed oil to a stiff putty. This cement is good for joints on steam or water pipes; it will set under water.
The average consumption of coal for steam boilers is 12 pounds per hour for each square foot of grate surface.
One ton of coal is equivalent to two cords of wood for steam purposes.
Doubling the diameter of a pipe increases its capacity four times.
A cubic foot of water contains 7½ gallons.
A gallon weighs 8⅓ pounds.
Water expands ¹/₉ of its bulk in freezing.
Ice weighs 56½ pounds per cubic foot.
Engineers can judge of the condition of their machinery by the tone it gives out while running. Every make of engine has a peculiar tone of its own. The engineer becomes accustomed to that, and any departure from it at once excites a suspicion that all is not right. The engineer may not know what is the matter, he may have no ear for music, but the change in tone of his machine will be instantly perceptible and will start him upon an immediate investigation.
An Indicator is an instrument used to determine the indicated horse-power of an engine; it shows the action of the steam in the cylinder and serves as a guide in setting valves to get the greatest amount of energy from the steam used.
Atmospheric pressure is the weight of the air.
To take lime from injector tubes, mix one part muriatic acid and ten parts soft water. Immerse tube in this mixture over night.
Compound for Cooling Heavy Bearings.—For cooling heavy pillow block bearings, or the steps of upright shafts, the following will be found very valuable: Four pounds of tallow, one-half pound of sugar of lead, three-fourths pound plumbago. When the tallow is melted (not boiling) add sugar of lead and let it dissolve; then put in the plumbago, and stir the whole mass until cold.
A mixture of soft soap and black lead makes an excellent lubricant for gears, as it lessens the abrasion and noise and has the advantage over tallow of not becoming hard. It is also easily removed should it become necessary to clean the parts on which it has been used.
The axles and axle arms of a traction engine should be well greased or oiled before moving, to prevent them from being cut and wearing both hub and axle rapidly.