Rough and Tumble Engineering

by James H. Maggard

It is not uncommon for a hot box to be caused from a coal cinder dropping in the box in shipment, and before starting a new engine, clean out the boxes thoroughly, which can be done by taking off the caps, or top box, and wiping the journal clean with an oily rag or waste, and every engineer should supply himself with this very necessary article, especially if he is the kind of an engineer who intends to keep his engine clean.

The engine should be run slowly and carefully for a while, to give a chance to find out if anything is going to heat, before putting on any load.

Now if your engine is all right, you can run the pressure up to the point of blowing off, which is from one hundred to one hundred and ten pounds. Most new pop valves, or safety valves, are set at this pressure. I would advise you to fire to this point, to see that your safety is all right. It is not uncommon for a new pop to stick, and as the steam runs up it is well to try it, by pulling the relief lever. If, on letting it go, it stops the escaping, steam at once, it is all right. If, however, the steam continues to escape, the valve sticks in the chamber. Usually a slight tap with a wrench or a hammer will stop it at once, but never get excited over escaping steam, and perhaps here is as good a place as any to say to you, don't get excited over anything. As long as you have plenty of water, and know you have, there is no danger.

The young engineer will most likely wonder why we have not said something about the danger of explosions. We did not start to write about explosions. That is just what we don't want to have anything to do with. But, you say, is there no danger of a boiler exploding? Yes. But if you wish to explode your boiler you must treat it very differently from the way we advise. We have just stated, that as long as you have plenty of water, and know you have, there is no danger. Well, how are you to know? This is not a difficult thing to know, provided your boiler is fitted with the proper appliances, and all builders of any prominence, at this date, fit their boilers with from two to four try-cocks, and a glass gauge. The boiler is tapped in from two to four places for the try-cocks, the location of the cocks ranging from a line on a level with the crown sheet, or top of fire box, to eight inches above, depending somewhat on the amount of water space above the crown sheet, as this space differs very materially in different makes of the same sized boiler. The boiler is also tapped on or near the level of crown sheet, to receive the lower water glass cock and directly above this, for the top cock. The space between this shows the safe variation of the water. Don't let the water get above the top of the glass, for if you are running your engine at hard work, you may knock out a cylinder head, and don't let it get below the lower gauge, or you may get your head knocked off.

Now the glass gauge is put on for your convenience, as you can determine the location of the water as correctly by this as if you are looking directly into the boiler, provided, the glass gauge is in perfect order. But as there are a number of ways in which it may become disarranged or unreliable, we want to impress on your mind that you, must not depend on it entirely. We will give these causes further on. You are not only provided with the glass gauge, but with the try-cocks. These cocks are located so that the upper and lower cock is on or near the level with the lower and upper end of the glass gauge. With another try-cock about on a level with the center of glass gauge, or in other words, if the water stands about the center of glass it will at the same time show at the cock when tried. Now we will suppose that your glass gauge is in perfect condition and the water shows two inches in the glass. You now try the lower cock, and find plenty of water; you will then try the next upper cock and get steam. Now as the lower cock is located below the water line, shown by the glass, and the second cock above this line, you not only see the water line by the glass, but you have a way of proving it. Should the water be within two inches of the top of glass you again have the line between two cocks and can also prove it. Now you can know for a certainty, where the water stands in the boiler, and we repeat when you know this, there is nothing to fear from this source, and as a properly constructed boiler never explodes, except from low water or high pressure, and as we have already cautioned you about your safety valve, you have nothing to fear, provided you have made up your mind to follow these instructions, and unless you can do this, let your job to one who can. Well, you say you will do as we have directed, we will then go back to the gauges. Don't depend on your glass gauge alone, for several reasons. One is, if you depend on the glass entirely, the try-cocks become limed up and are useless, solely because they are not used.

Some time ago the writer was standing near a traction engine, when the engineer, (I guess I must call him that) asked me to stay with the engine a few minutes. I consented. After he had been gone a short time I thought I would look after the water. It showed about two inches in the glass, which was all right, but as I have advised you, I proposed to know that it was there and thought I would prove it by trying the cocks. But on attempting to try them I found them limed up solid. Had I been hunting an engineer, that fellow would not have secured the job. Suppose that before I had looked at the glass, it had bursted, which it is liable to do any time. I would have shut the gauge cocks off as soon as possible to stop the escaping steam and water. Then I would have tried the cocks to find where the water was in the boiler. I would have been in a bad boat, not knowing whether I had water or not. Shortly after this the fellow that was helping the engine run (I guess I will put it that way) came back. I asked him what the trouble was with his try cocks. He said, "Oh, I don't bother with them." I asked him what he would do if his glass should break. His reply was, "Oh, that won't break." Now just such an engineer as that spoils many a good engine, and then blames it on the manufacturer. Now this is one good reason why you are not to depend entirely on the glass gauge. Another equally as good reason is, that your glass may fool you, for you see the try-cocks may lime up, so may your glass gauge cocks, but you say you use them. You use them by looking at them. You are not letting the steam or water escape from them every few minutes and thereby cutting the lime away, as is the case with try-cocks. Now you want to know how you are to keep them open. Well, that is easy. Shut off the top gauge and open the drain cock at bottom of gauge cock. This allows the water and steam to flow out of the lower cock. Then after allowing it to escape a few seconds, shut off the lower gauge and open the top one, and allow it to blow about the same time. Then shut the drain cock and open both gauge cocks and you will see the water seek its level, and you can rest assured that it is reliable. This little operation I want you to perform every day you run an engine. It will prevent you from thinking you have water. I don't want you to think so. I intend that you shall know it. You remember we said, if you know you have water, you are safe, and every one around you will be safe.

Now here is something I want you to remember. Never be guilty of going to your engine in the morning and building a fire simply because you see water in the glass. We could give you the names of a score of men who have ruined their engines by doing this very thing. You, as a matter of course, want to know why this can do any harm. It could not, if the water in the boiler was as high as it shows in the glass, but it is not always there, and that is what causes the trouble. Well, if it showed in the glass, why was it not there? You probably have lived long enough in the world to know that there are a great many boys in it, and it seems to be second nature with them to turn everything on an engine that is possible to turn. All glass gauge cocks are fitted with a small hand wheel. The small boy sees this about the first thing and he begins to turn it, and he generally turns as long as it turns easy, and when it stops he will try the other one, and when it stops he has done the mischief, by shutting the water off from the boiler, and all the water that was in the glass remains there. You may have stopped work with an ordinary gauge of water, and as water expands when heated, it also contracts when it becomes cool. Water will also simmer away, if there is any fire left in the fire box, especially if there should be any vent or leak in the boiler, and the water may by morning have dropped to as much as an inch below the crown sheet. You approach the engine and on looking at the glass, see two or three inches of water. Should you start a fire without investigating any further, you will have done the damage, while if you try the gauge cocks first you will discover that some one has tampered with the engine. The boy did the mischief through no malicious motives, but we regret to say that there are people in this world who are mean enough to do this very thing, and not stop at what the boy did unconsciously, but after shutting the water in the gauge for the purpose of deceiving you, they then go to the blow-off cock and let enough water out to insure a dry crown sheet. While I detest a human being guilty of such a dastardly trick, I have no sympathy to waste on an engineer who can be caught in this way. So, if by this time you have made up your mind never to build a fire until you know where the water is, you will never be fooled and will never have to explain an accident by saying, "I thought I had plenty of water." You may be fooled in another way. You are aware that when a boiler is fired up or in other words has a steam pressure on, the air is excluded, so when the boiler cools down, the steam condenses and becomes water again, hence the space which was occupied by steam now when cold becomes a vacuum.

Now should your boiler be in perfect shape, we mean perfectly tight, your throttle equally as tight, your pump or injector in perfect condition and you were to' leave your engine with the hose in the tank, and the supply globe to your pump open, you will find on returning to your engine in the morning that the boiler will be nearly if not quite full of water. I have heard engineers say that someone had been tampering with their engines and storm around about it, while the facts were that the supply being open the water simply flowed in from atmospheric pressure, in order to fill the space made vacant by the condensed steam. You will find further on that all check valves are arranged to prevent any flowing out from the boiler, but nothing to prevent water flowing in. Such an occurrence will do no harm but the knowing how it was done may prevent your giving yourself away. A good authority on steam boilers, says: "All explosions come either from poor material, poor workmanship, too high pressure, or a too low gauge of water." Now to protect yourself from the first two causes, buy your engine from some factory having a reputation for doing good work and for using good material. The last two causes depend very much on yourself, if you are running your own engine. If not, then see that you have an engineer who knows when his safety valve is in good shape and who knows when he has plenty of water, or knows enough to pull his fire, when for some reason, the water should become low. If poor material and poor workmanship were unknown and carelessness in engineers were unknown, such a thing as a boiler explosion would also be unknown.

You no doubt have made up your mind by this time that I have no use for a careless engineer, and let me add right here, that if you are inclined to be careless, forgetful,(they both mean about the same thing,) you are a mighty poor risk for an insurance company, but on the other hand if you are careful and attentive to business, you are as safe a risk as any one, and your success and the durability and life of your engine depends entirely upon you, and it is not worth your while to try to shift the responsibility of an accident to your engine upon some one else.

If you should go away from your engine and leave it with the water boy, or anyone who might be handy, or leave it alone, as is often done, and something goes wrong with the engine, you are at fault. You had no business to leave it, but you say you had to go to the separator and help fix something there. At the separator is not your place. It is not our intention to tell you how to run both ends of an outfit. We could not tell you if we wanted to. If the men at the separator can't handle it, get some one or get your boss to get some one who can. Your place is at the engine. If your engine is running nicely, there is all the more reason why you should stay by it, as that is the way to keep it running nicely. I have seen twenty dollars damage done to the separator and two days time lost all because the engineer was as near the separator as he was to the engine when a root went into the cylinder. Stay with your engine, and if anything goes wrong at the separator, you are ready to stop and stop quickly, and if you are signalled to start you are ready to start at once You are therefore making time for your employer or for yourself and to make time while running a threshing outfit, means to make money. There are engineers running engines today who waste time enough every day to pay their wages.