Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-05-17
Pumping Coal.

The old way of recovering coal from
sunken canal boat 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 pom
toons moored alongside of it. At low tide
the chains were made fast on the pom
toons. which, rising with the tide. lifted
the sunken boat clear of the bottom. At
high water it was taken inshore as far
as possible, until it again grounded. This
operation was repeated until the boat
was brought to the surface. The new
way or rather the modern way. is 10
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 a disk. with wings
attached, turning at high speed within
the pump shell, circular chamber. to
which the suction pump is attached An
S-inch pump of this kind will pump CRATE
or broken coal easily, and pump up a
load of 300 tons in day. It will raise
coal from boat Sunken at any depth
from 5 feet to 200 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 suction pipe
attached to the pump. 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 differ
| ent lengths. so that it may be Joined up
| to make pipe of any length desired At
each end of such length of iron pipe Is
| hanger. AS lengths of pipe are Joined,
| the Hangers are bolted together. with
rubber gasket between. to make the joint
| tight. The flexible suction pipe Is held
out over the water and over the sunken
| boat from the wrecking boat by a gaff,
and iron pipe is added to the needed
| depth. BY means of the gaf the pipe
| may be raised and lowered as occasion
| may require as. for instance. TO raise the
| lower end of the suction pipe from one
| part of the canal boat up and over
| crossbeam connecting the sides, to be
| lowered into the coal in another part Of
| the boat.
| When the pipe is all joined on it is not
at once lowered into the coal. The pump
i is first charged with water, which is done
| in an exceedingly brief time. and in a
very simple manner by means Of a sphon
! attached to the shell 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 pumped up together and
thrown out through the pumps discharge
pipe in a continuous stream. A boat to
receive the coal is made fast alongside
| the wrecking boat, and the coal from the
| pump is discharged upon a screen set at
an incline between the two boats, The
| water runs through the screen and the
| coal runs on into the other boat.
i The suction pipe can be handled for the
most part from the Wrecklng boat. II
u any handling under water is necessary, a
diver goes down for that purpose. and it
: may be that the diver brings within the
power of the pumps suction remnants of
coal left in hooks ana crannles which it
,l,..I