New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-10-13
aye,v OrIeatts gepublifa11.
OFFICIAL JOURNALO THE UNITED STATES
-@S-
OFFICIAL JOURNAL Of NEW ORLEANS
DEFECTIVE BOILERS.
Sensible Words from Practical Man ON
the Causes of Steamboat Explosions
Tprom the Memphis Appeal.I

AHRHrnER
the Causes Of Steamboat hNpLoSAoHs'
From the Memphis Appeal
onr railroad companies are securing the
,,aS,r;aas If the best practical boiler makers
81 IA their boiler work. They only use the
hest brands of boiler iron that is made in
fbe construction or repair of their l0c0ln0-
tive boilers They employ only first class
mechanics for their master mechanics. Leb
q practical man 20 into one Of tleee ran
road boiler shops, and he will ina that the
york is done in the best possible manner,
foT straogth and durability. Ii O sheet Of
iron ar a dapge is defective, it is returned
70 the manufacturer who furnished it. This
Il dome for economy and safety. Let me
4aIre v0u. gentle reader, into marine
heller shop that builds boilers for our West
eTn rivers and lakes.
We will first examine the bolterplate
that il used in this class of boilers, and yOu
generally will find it the poorest quality
that the boiler inspector will receive At.
the same time the proprietor OF this So
called bOiler-shOp complains about the high
1,rica of boiler iron. If we notice the punch
ing machine in operation we find an old
punch in use that strains. the IRON, that not
only breaks the skin Of the iron, but breaks
fine fibres and strains the iron to such an
extent that when the boiler has been IN use
a short time it will break from hole to hole,
in the seam, and cause serious damage, and
frenuently loss of life; yet the boiler may
only be under an ordinary pressure OF
steam. We will now go to the tange ire
and witness the process Of Hanging the
heads of these boilers.
We soon see defect in the hot iron, aud
INQUIRE of the workman if the boiler in.
spector VIII receive such iron. His reply
il: HE seldom comes here; there is too
much dust and smoke, and he only exam
ines the boiler after it is finished, then
these cracks and flaws are out Of sight"
We now will notice them fitting the work
together 1t is often the case that the
sheets are not drawn down to an edge
where one sheet fits over the other, and
tool is used TO break down the sheet and
force the work together. BY this the sheet
is often broken, and the defect is concealed
with the hammer. We next will notice
the riyeting. the punching being done by
an unskillful workman, the holes do not
come opposite each other, and the
riveter is not allowed time to ream
the holes. He is compelled to use the
drift-pin and q heavy hammer to force them
apart, and often fractures the iron by so
doing. We inquire of the foreman if they
employ first-elass WOrkmen in building
these boilers. Mark his reply: These are
only for q steamboat, and almost any sort
of men will do to build them, bnt we keep
better class Of workmen for repairs" 1
nave BHOW1 Lu6 NbElOuS u6l6GtS ia Jun ui@AS
these marine boilers, and many Of them are
nearly worthless when they leave The shop.
When one of these worthless boilers bursts,
the cry is"Iow water, +" negligent engineer"
or anything eIse to shield the builder Of
this engine Of destruction.
/ viii suggest a remedy to prevent this
wholesale slaughter. Let Congress at its
next session revise the "marine boiler in
epecting law" as I stated in my last letter.
Let it require competent, practical men for
boiler inspectors, and require not less than
two Of the board of supervising inspectors
to be practical boiler-makers Of long expe
rience. Let them require the boiler in
spector to keep constant watch over all
maIine boilers when they are building. Let
the law compel builders to notify the boiler
inspector when they are to commence d |
marine boiler, and allow no boiler 70 be put
in use on steamboat unless it has been
built under the supervision of boiler in
spector, who is a practical man 4. P.