The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-04-27 00:00:00

THE NEW QUICKSILVER STEAM-SHIP

COLUMBUS.

. .
This splendid new steamer, destined shortly to cross the
Atlantic. which has created inhch interest, frOut the novel
construction of its machinery, made after- Mr. Howard's
invention for the rapid- vapourisation of -Water on iron plates
over heated quicksilver, Ott Tuesday-afte.rnoonteok a Mal trip
down the Mersey and -round the light-ship; with a highly-
respectable party of gentlemen on hitard.- She excited mach
curiosity on the river, from the novelty of her appearance and
the beauty of her model. :In her cocoa ruction She haS wore _of
the appearance of an elegantly-made brig ; she-has two chim-
neys, both very low,. and from.the'peculiar cual,"the autlirasitc,
consumed by her no smoke is emitted. By the politene-ss of
Captain Daniel Green, her commander, ''and .-Mr. Howard, the
inventor of her machinery, we have.been furnished' with the
following particuiars:—The Columbus is 330 tens;' builders'
tneasurement, being 212 feet beam, and' 145-feet keel, with 131
feet depth of hold. She has 110 horse power, two. 55 feet
engines, the cylinders being 40 inches dioureter and al feet
stroke, and the wheel 173/4 feet diameter. Her speed
through the water is ten statute miles per hour; her ins,
mersed section at her present load is 150 square feet.
She has now on board - twenty days' fuel, besides &Nona of
iron ballast. The novelty of the engines (Mr. Howard's• pa-
tent) consists in a tiew tnethhd of producing the'steam,'and of
'condensing it, the latter part of -the invention being applicable
to the ordinary 'boilers. In a boiler the heat from the fuel
is passed over very extensive surfaces, in contact with which
is a large body of water, the temperature of which is
always such as is due to the density or pressure of the steam,
and consequently the evaporation is limited by - such circum-
stances. In this invention the steam is formed by bringing a
small quantity of water previously made boiling hot, in contact
with acotnparatively small surface, heated to, and maintained
at the temperature at most rapid Capohrization, viz. about
400 deg. to effect which a quantity of mercury or amalgam Ices
between iron plates, the one near the fire being a plain surface
of only three quarters of a toot per horse power, and the other,
or vapodrizing surface being about four times as much. • The
steam never obtains a density or pressure due to the tempera-
ture, but is itself heated to about 400 deg. and worked at about
ten pounds to the inch, and cut off from the cylinder at half the
stroke. " e condensation is effected by the repeated injection
*of the so ater—so that pure :water is continually circulated
through engines, the waste from casual leakages being sup-
plied by stills attached to the fuunels, and which further give
a surplus quantity of water for the ship's use. This principle of
condensation is effected as follows, on hoard the Columbus:—
the air pumps withdraw the warm injection water front the con-
densers into the hot cisterns, from which it passes slowly through
a series of copper pipes exposed to the action of the external
cold sea water in a cistern supplied by a pump, on the air pump
cross-head, and then is re-jojected amidst the steam in the &nu-
densers; after having been effextually_cooled by its transmission
through the pipes. This process of ctindensatirin is obviously
equally applicable to the ordinary engines with boilers, and is
most effectual. The fuel made use of is coke -oi stone-coal, or
other fuel giving a strong local-heat and little ...flame; that em-
ployed on Tuesday was Kilkenny coal. 'The consumption of
fuel is three tons per day of 24 hours, and the fire grates have a
total bar surface of only 22 feet, 'the- air beittg.supplied by a
small blowing machine, under easy regulation. The iron plates
exposed to the fire are perfectly" secured cranially bad effect
from the somewhat intense heat, by the close contact of the
mercury within them, and which absoiliS and gives out the heat
with the utmost rapidity. The combined effect Of
the reduction
in the consumption of fuel, and the weight and size of the va-
pourizers, compared with-boilers is such that a steam vessel of
any ordinary tonnage and power will he enabled at her loaded
immersion to make a voyage office tunes the length now. Prac-
ticable. '
The steamer made a delightful trip round the light ship ; her
speed is not great—about ten miles an 'hour—hut is very good,
taking- into consideration the power tit her engines compared
with her tonnage. Her paddle wheels are also on an improved
principle, being constructed after Morgan's patent, the paddles
turning on an eccentric centre with the wheel, and always
turning perpendicularly, exposing-a perfectly flat and perpen-
dicular surface to the water. By this means the beating of the
paddles on the water is avoided, and the &instant lifting
and vibration of the vessel done away with, the paddles always
descending into and rising out of the water perpendicularly.
On Friday last, the vessel made an experimental trip to Mar-
lin, and was seventeen hours on her passage, having a strong
head wind part of the way. She returned on Sunday in 153/4
hours. At Holyhead, she fell in with the Mermaid steamer,
from Waterford, and slightly gained upon her.
A rumour has gained very general circulation that the quick-
silver used on board, in generating steam, bad_ the effect of
salivating the crew, and than two of 'the men were landed at
Portsmouth, on her way from Loudon, seriously ill in 'conse-
quence. Such, however, we learn not to be the fact, but that
two engineers, landsmen, who were dreadfully sea sick, were
so landed, and that probably gave rise to the report. At the
request of Mr. Howard, we made enquiries of one of the en-
gineers, named Smith, who went on board the first steam vessel
of this construction, the Comet, in March, 1834, and sailed froin
London to Ramsgate, and afterwards kom Woolwich to Fal-
mouth, and returned again, and went from thence to Lisbon
and returned, and during the whole time never felt the least in-
convenience or effect from the quicksilver, though constantly
in the engine-room. The fires require not half the labour to.
keep them up of the ordinary steam-boiler fires. A prejudice
appears also to exist about the slow Speed of the vessel compared
with that of some of our first steamers;. but, when it is consider-
ed that the power of the vessel is not drore than half, compared
with the tonnage, of most of our steamers, -the speed is in more
than proportion. The Columbus poSSesses a cabin and quarter-
deck of very great extent, compared with her tonnage, and the
cabin is fitted up with great neatness. :We wish her every
success.