The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1898-06-16
PUMPING COAL.
Tho Modern Way of Taking Out the Cargo
of q sunken CanaIboat.

OF a sunken Canalboat.
The old way of recovering coal from
q sunken canalboat was to raise the
boat, with the coal in it, to a point
where the coal could be reached. Chains
were worked under the sunken boat
from pontoons moored alongside of 1t.
At low tide the chains were made fast
on the pontoons, which, rising with the
tide, lifted the sunken boat clear of the
bottom. At high water it was taken in
shore as far as possible, until 1t again
grounded. This operation was repeated
until the boat was brought to the sur.
face. The new way, or, rather, the mod
ern way, is to pump the coal up from
the boat, wherever it may lie, and then
raise the boat, if it does not raise itself.
By this method the work is all done in
very much less time and at very much
less expense.
The pump used has no pump valves.
1t is a centrifugal pump, the suction
being produced by means of disk, with
wings attached, turning at high speed
within the pump she'll, a circular cham
Der, to which the suction pipe is attach
ed. An eight inch pump of this kind
will pump CRATE or broken coal easily.
and pump up load Of 800 tons in
day. 1t will raise coal from a boat
sunk at any depth from feet to 900 feet.
The pump and engine are installed
on a wrecking boat, which is moored
near the sunken boat In this use the
pump has a long flexible section of sue
tion pipe attached to 1t, and to that
are attached the various additional
lengths of pipe that may be required to
reach down to the coal. This pipe is
made of wrought iron, and it Is made
in sections of different lengths, so that
1t may be joined 10 make pipe Of
any length desired. AT each end of each
length of iron pige is fianger. As
lengths of pipe are Joined, the Hangers
are bolted together, with rubber gas
ket between, to make the joint tight.
The flexible suction pipe is held out
over the water and over the sunken boat
from the wreckins boat by gatf, and
iron pipe is added to the needed depth.
By means of the gaff the pipe may be
raised and lowered as occasion may re-
er end of the suction pipe from one part
of the canalboat up and over cross
beam connecting the Sides to be lower
ed into the coal in another part Of the
boat.
When the pipe is all Joined on, it il
not at once lowered into the coal. The
pump is first charged with water, which
is done in an exceedingly brief time,
and in very simple manner by means
of a siphon attached to the she'll Of the
pump. When it has been charged, the
pump is started and the lower end of
the suction pipe is then lowered into
the COAL and coal and water are pump
ed up together and thrown out through
the pumps discharge pipe i'll eontinu-
Gus stream. A boat to receive the coal
is made fast alongside the wrecking
boat, and the coal from the pump Is
discharged upon screen set at an in
cline between the two boats. The water
runs through the screen and the coal
runs on into the other boat.
The suction pipe can be handled for
the most part from the wrecking boat.
If any handling under water is neces-
sary diver goes down for that pur
pose, and it may be that the diver
brings within the power of the pumps
suction remnants of coal left in hooks
and crannies which it might otherwise
not have reached. When the boat has
been emptied, if it is not too much
damaged or water soaked or too firmly
bedded i'll the mud, it will float of itself.
If suction holds it to the bottom, it will
rise when 1t has been started clear.
Pumps of this kind are made of from
2 TO 60 inches in diameter. New York
Sun.