Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1881-12-03
A NEW INVENTION.


Which Promises 10 RevOIutiOnize
the Present system Of Salt Manufac-
ture and Reduce the Expense One
Half.
Messrs. Alex Mclean and j. II. Wat
son, of Tawas City, have invented a sys-
tenn of manufacturing salt by use OF hot
water instead of steam, and their inven-
tiOn Is now being used with the very
best of results in the large salt block at
Tawas City, and Is designed, without
doubt, to reyOlutiOnize the present sys-
tenn of salt making. The invention
substitutes boiling and super-heated
water for steam, and forces the same
through the ordinary steam pipes in the
grainers and back into the boilers, where
1t is again heated, and thus used over
and over again. The hot water leaves
the boilers under any desired pressure
that the pipes can safely withstand, and
therefore passes through the grainer
pipes in super-heated condition and
without being changed to steam because
of the pressure) is brought back to the
boiler and again heated and sent on its
mission. circulating from boiler to block
and from block to boiler as long as de-
sired, the circulation being effected by an
ordinary steam pump or other suitable
boiler feeder. The Inventors claim that
the same, and even greater temperature
can be maintained in the grainsrs of a
salt block with One-half the boiler capa-
city and One-half the fuel that the Ordi-
nary steam block requires, and that the
apparatus can be applied to any s cam
salt block at slight expense. The follow
ing careful test, made by Henry Clark
and Mr.WatsOn, i'm the presence of j. W.
King, A. Mclean, G. S. Darling, James
Syme and others, will give an idea of
the practical results that can be attained
through the invention, and 1T must be
remembered that this was the first test
made, and was made under peculiar
disadvantages. The hot water pump
was connected with the grain pipes of
two grainers with Axe water cylinder,
supplied with 11a-inch discharge pipe
and 2-inch suction pipe, and running
at 80 strokes per minute. When the
pump was started the water was going
into the boiler at temperature of so de-
grees and the brine in the grainers was
at 100 degrees. After running 30 min
utes the water going into the boiler was
at 130 and the brine in the grainers was
at 120. This was at 8 p. m. At Z. o'clock
the water going into the boiler stood at
142 and the brine at 100; 1880 the water
stood at 154 and the brine at 146; at 8
o'clock the water stood at 1866 and the
brine at 1853; at $50 the water stood at
176 and the brine at ITO: at 8 o'clock the
water stood at 1893 and the brine at 1872;
at $3.50 the water stood at 1870 and the
brine at 1888; at 10 o'clock the water
stood at 1914 and the brine at 1872, and at
10:30 the water stood at 1913 and the
brine at 1856. The next morning the
water going into the boilers after hav-
ing made the circuit of the salt block,
stood at 204 degrees, and the brine in the
grainers stood at 200 and that tempera
turs had been reached by using but one
half the boiler capacity that had pre-
viOusly been used, and with moderate
firing at that.
We understand that since the above
test was made the brine in the grainers
has been brought up to the boiling point,
and that it can be maintained at or
near that point, If desirable, with per-
feet ease also that the block Is now
making nearly SO per cent more salt
than fOrmely from the same grainers
and with considerable less fuel and ex-
pense; also that the quality of salt made
is much finer, owing to the rapid crys-
talizatiOn. One Of the practical features
of the invention is the ease with which
manufacturers using the improvement
can change from hot water to steam and
vice versa, without expense, thus accom-
mOdating their salt works to the needs
of saw mills or other manufactures
where steam is required to be used a
portion of the time, or, by having the
pipes and connections OF sufficient
LxsI L1 30
make salt by the hot water process at the
same time the mill machinery is being
run by steam.-Bay City Tribune.