The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1866-11-15

journals are startled and shocked-if IA
miliarity has not induced callousness-
by accounts of steam boiler explosions,
attended always with loss of property,
and often with loss of life or limb.
To no other subject is the old adage,
Tin too much discussion the truth is
lost, more applicable than to that of
boiler explosions. The cause of these
catastrophes has been so muddled by
worldly dissertations, mysterious theo-
ries, and senseless conjectures, that few
think of looking directly at the facts of
each individual case and deciding each
on It's own evidence. Mysterious agen-
Scits, under the names of contraction
-.expansion, electricity, ''develop-
ment of explosive cases. and others,
figure consciously in the reports of com
mittees Of inquiry. The causes which
are most obvious, Or could be most east
3y ascertained, are overlooked, and the
Investigators go proving about among
unknown or not understood forces, to
md that which frequently is before their
eyes. Braces originally too weak, cor
roded, or improperly located; plates run.
ming longitudinally instead of circum
ferentially; defective riveting: plates
weakened by large holes not filed with
the rivets; deficiency in the thickness
of plate, poor iron, and carelessness in
calking, are overlooked, to say nothing
of corrosion from impure water, hard
firing, or neglected water feed, and in
competent attendants
Sometimes, in riyeting, the holes in
the plates diverge half their diameter,
and they are reamed to a circular form,
or enough to admit the ordinary rivet,
which cannot fill the space, and depends
for its security wholly on the juxtaposi-
ton of the heads with the surface of the
plates. Heat expands the iron, loosen
ing the rivets, the water works through,
and if containing salts, rapidly oxdizes
the iron. opening the way for n rupture.
The careless use OF the calking ch;sel
sometimes cuts into the plate one third
or one fourth Of its thickness, so that
when an explosion occurs the line of the
fracture follows the channel thus made,
as the breaking of glass follows the dia
imond scratch.
In connection with these remarks we
cannot help referring to an accident on
fine steamer only a few months ago, by
which number of persons lost their
the coroner's jury, which resulted in
perfect mystitication Yet the cause or
causes should have been apparent in sew
eral facts which were ascertained First,
that part of the boiler that gave was SO
deficient in substance that, at the maxi.
mum working pressure, the iron was
strained to nearly its rupturing limit;
the factor of safety, instead of being )
or 6, being hardly above 0. Second, the
sheets, instead of being placed circum-
fercntially so that the joints would not
be SO long in the direction of the length
of the cylinder, and so that each would
support the adjacent ones, were placed
with the long diameter running length
wise. Third, the calking iron had in
2 jured the iron along the seams nearly 20
per cent, and the braces were placed in
an improper manner.
1t can scarcely be contended that this
was an exceptional case. 1t is to be
feared that many of our boilers would
not stand a thorough scrutiny on these
Re Mr n ,rl
inent engineer of Stourbridge, England,
recently read before the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers paper which ex-
hibited the following facts During the
present century there have been 1,045
boiler explosions in England. causing
the death of 4,076 persons and injuries
to 1908. OF the 1,045 explosions, 397
were "uncertain' as to cause 1877 were
from over pressure, from the weighing or
over weighing of safety valves. or from
other acts of carelessness; l19 from col
lapse of internal fiues; IA from short
ness of water. or from incrustations.
and from extraneous causes not impe-
diately connected with the boiler. From
these facts Mr.. Martin expressed himself
as opposed to all ideas of internal de-
tonation, spontaneous generation Of ex-
plosive gases. or other mysteries.
If this is approximately correct ex-
hibit Of the causes of boiler explosions
in England, need we look for some mys-
terious and unknown agency to account
for similar occurrences here? 1t is well
known that English mechanics and en-
gineers are held to strict accountability
BY the laws, much more SO than in this
country. 1t may be claimed that the
tena city of American boiler plate is SUI
perior, and such extreme caution as is
enforced in England is unnecessary here;
but in this matter as in others it is s.bet-
ter to be foolisely careful than foolishly
careless"
We holiovo bet rfri1