The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-09
COMPRESSOR FOR TOM BOY.
The Largest Plant Ever Installed in
Colorado

One of the largest air compressors
ever brought to the state, says the
Denver Republican, is now being erect
ed by the Rand Drill company for the
Tom Boy mine, the order for the ma
chine having been given to w. H.
Emanuel, agent of the company, last
week after a sharp competition be-
tween the manufacturers of compress
scrs. The machine is being constructed
| on special lines with reference to the
altitude of the mine, its location. and
the work that it is to be called upon
to perform. In the first place, the mine
as located at a point on the mountain
! that is inaccessible except by trail
and the matter of the first Importance
was to have it so constructed that il
could be hauled I'D without difficulty.
This will be done without any sacrifice
/ tC the weight of metal, the heaviest
! piece Weighing but 1000 pounds. The
mining company wanted a machine to
operate nine drills, and in order to
guarantee this capacity at an altitude
of 1900 feet it was decided that a ma
chine with normal capacity of is
drills at sea level would be necessary.
The usual allowance for the reduction
of atmospheric pressure at an altitude
of $1,000 feet is % per cent. but in or
der to be perfectly safe still greater
the experts of the machine company
that the compressor will be able to do
much more work than the nine drills
guaranteed, but the liberal allowance
for reduction of atmospheric pressure
makes the guaranteed work more GER
tain The compressor is a compound
steam and compound air machine with
a 14X22-inch cylinder.
The compressor is a model of its kind
The steam cylinders are fitted with
Meyer cutoff valves specially arranged
for the free admission of air into the
low pressure cylinders The air is then
delivered from the low pressure air cy-
finders to the water cooling device,
which does not permit the water 10
come in contact with the air. After
being cooled the air is delivered to a
water jacketed. high pressure air cylin-
der and compressed to about 100 pounds
pressure. The compressor is fitted with
band wheel instead of a fly wheel !
The usual plan of a compressor is to
have the steam cylinders in the center
and the air cylinders at the end farth- /
est from the fly or band wheel In /
this machine, however, these positions /
will be reversed, the steam cylinders !
being placed at the end and the air /
cylinders nearest the band wheel so |
that the steam can be shut off and 1
the compressorS operated with a belt
from an electric or water motor to the |
band wheel The steam cylinders are
so fitted that they can be quickly dis
connected in case il is found neces-
sary to run the compressor by cleo
tric1ty or water power. 1t is of the
same pattern as that in operation at
the Mahala mine in Leadville with the
exception that the cylinders are re-
versed as stated above. The contract
requires the finishing machine to be
placed on the cars in six weeks from
the time of the award. and it is ex-
pected that it will be in operation not
later than the middle of June The
purchase of a machine of this charac-
ter by the Tom Boy company is an
earnest of its determination to very
largely increase the output of the mine.
other improvements are now under
and will be put into eff
fect during the coming season.