, 1859-11-05
Compressed Cold Air ~ a motor--Its
Application.

>. ApPllcAt1Ous
lFspn tbs y. j. Courier Aad EaQutrnl
An opportunity IVES afforded on Saturday oi
witnessing the. operation Of compressed cold
dutting power. Messrs. fnvan i Carhast,
etoihiers, III the upper stories Of the American
Express building IN Hudson street, are the SUBJ
jec's Of the experiment in quession--which has
been attended with perfect success, not only in
mechanical view, but as labor-sayipg, eco
loEic Engipes are placed in yault under
the sidewalk, connected with each Of
which is m air-pump sixteen inches in
diameter and: about the same ::st1oke.'
or depth. Both pumps discharge into
large r-chamber, which is provided with a
safety vn!ve or escape-pipe. the uses Of which
are manifest: Butu limited number Of the sew
ing machines in use, being as yet brought into
connection with the apparatus, only one Of the
caloric engines is now running. The two. it is
bo|ieFed, will. afford sufficient 10 work q hun
dred sewing maclines,. The compressed air is
conveyed from the receiver to the lofts by means
Of. a urge pipe, and distributed to the several
sewing machines through labyrinth Of small
erpipes. Its duplication 10 the machines is By
means Of two small cylinders, with pistons 50
arranged that the force bears continually upon
one point, obTiatinE much 's VIZ =" aid tear nnd
rendering it impossible to start and turn the
machine the wroay way-a consideration Of no
lille IlIFQFl1lEEt 4AE Hpp}&CAllQn Q1 lu& no.
tire power is regulated BY the foot, and 40 COM
pletc is it under control that the machine NAV
be started or stopped and the speed increased or
decreased with the same certninty as when
worked in the ordinary way. The escapa Of
compressed air, while the machines are ID mo-
tion, has beneficial effect in promoting renti-
1ation in room crowded with workmca. Tie
relief to the operator which is afforded by this
appliance for turning the sewing machine, is
very great; the severe labor that caused the op-
perator to succumb in few months or q year
or two at most, and seek other employment, il
rendered comparatively light, and the operator
is enabled to increase the work dcne on single
machine. from fifty. to one hundred per cent.
For this reason we have spoken Of this aoplica-
tion Of compressed cold mir as q motor, as COM
ptetely snccessfu! both as labor saving, eco
nomscal Investment, and in q mechanical point
of ricw. The whole work vas done By Mr.. J.
u. kitching, the agent tor the CaloTic Engines.
After full examination Of the apparatus
abore described. alr. Ericsson conversed freely
of conducting power. lie expressed decided
cpl4on tha: the project, WHICH has been alluded
to ID the public journals. as about to be under
taken in Paris, Of conveying 10 oil parts Of that
city, from i powerful stationary engine, by
means Of compressed air forced through pipes
laid under the streets, US entirely impracticable.
Through single large building. or few hum
dred feet. it is the extent to which in his judg-
ulent, compressed mir Us motor can be success.
full applied. Leakage is one great difficulty,
but there il another less easily overcome. The
air while undergoing compression, becomes
heated, but again coo!s, and Of course contracts,
while in the process Of transmission to the point
Of application. The heat eagcnJered by pow
crful compression is considerable, and Ar. Erics-
sou has overcome this circumstance by making
the air-pumps. the aiE.chAmber, aud the main
pipes all very larSethe pressure in the air cham
bcr is but six pounds to the square inch. In
the vault in which the air-pumps are situated,
there is large steam boiler, tor the purpose Of
hcAtiDg BY steam the Express building; the
temperature Of the vau!t il consequently ut all
times high; but notwithstanding the high tenn
peratnrc ut which the air in the air-cllamber is
kept by heat from The steam boiler, and the pro-
cess Of compression, i. is, when it escapes at
the sewing machine, quite cold Mr. Ericsson
is confident, therefore, that the suhlection
Of air to pressure Of fifty or one hundred
pounds to the square iuch, and conveying
If thus through the pipes considerable distance,
would bring the expansive and contracting ct-
fects Of hc1t and cold into such active operation
that, to say nothing of leakage. which would be
very great under high pressure, the power to
be thus obtained would be inefficient, or yastly
mHrc expensive than uny now in use.
Compressed air is in very successful use as 6
1ne1ns Of hoistiug goods. in two Of tue large
warehouses in this cIty-in one case It is carried
under the street, and great sasi1g Of insurance
thus effected. The whole subject is one well
worthy the examination Of persons interested
in 1abor-saving appliances.