The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-07-19


| resting upon him than the Inspector of
| Boilers and Elevators. Joseph G. Branch.
| who is held accountable for the inspection
| OF the 100 boilers and 1900 elevators in
! operation in the city.
To do this work he is allowed by the city
! five deputies and secretary. while he has
| the appointment of fifteen assistant inspec-
! tors, who are paid by the different insur-
| ance companies doing business in the city
| Mr.. Branch. who recently appointed
by Mayor Wells. took the scientific course
! at iyehfgh University. and from there he
| went TO Princeton. where he graduated in
| one wear, takirE the degree Of Bachelor of
| Sciences and establishing the record for
| the highest standing in the history of the
university.
After finishing at Princeton he went 10
! Berlin University. in Germany. and ac-
| qGired knowledge which. coupled with prac-
| teal experience. has resulted in his patent
| ing steam and furnace appliances which
are used in almost every country on the
! ENaoe
| In the office OF the Inspector are kept
| complete records of all boilers and eleva-
| tors from the time they are put in commits
sion until they are condemned. and during
this time they are under the absolute con-
| troll of the Inspector.
No boiler can lie built or brought into the
! city until he has approved OF the plans, or
| of the boiler itself regardless of any prior
! inspection which may have been made by
| some other official In another city.
! No boiler or elevator is permitted to oper
ate in the city unless a certificate of in
| spection has been issued signed by him. and
| City Register. showing that It has received
| the Inspectors personal supervision, or
that of one Of his deputies
DETERMINES STEAM PRESSURE.
must determine the amount of steam pres
| sure it is safe for the boiler (, carry, and
| his certificate must show the pr.ximum
| valve for the pressure the law makes ii a
mtsdemeanor with heavy penalty. for
6bmpeFn n, NV with ba fa and the S, ensnseF
In every city the inspection of boilers and
elevators is becoming more rigid and the in
spectors more efficient This is the result
of the progress which has been made along
engineering lines in the last twenty years.
owing to the Worlds Fair and the rapid
growth of St. Louis, the responsibility and
demands on the Inspectors office are in
creasing daily to meet the new require
mems. MI. branch has MADE many changes
IN the Office and has PLACED this branch of
the city government at the head OF all the
cities in the country in efficiency of In
The office of Boiler Inspector is on the
fourth floor of the New City Hall. and in
reply to questions of a representative OF
The Republic, IN regard to boiler inspec-
ton, Mr.. Branch said
Conditions are much changed to what
| twenty years ago fifty or sixty pounds was
the average pressure carried and Is was
average, and boilers are now being built to
carry as high as 200 pounds or more.
ITO meet this increased pressure and the
dangers arising therefrom. the boilers must
be strengthened and more thorough in
spection given. Steel plates must now be
used, where formerly wrought iron would
STRENGTH Is INCREASED.
This has increased the tensile strength
of the plates from 5000 pounds to Go,OOO
and 1000 pounds to the square inch. AS
the strength and thickness of the plates
We're increased. so also the efficiency of the
joints had to be proportionately increased.
fcissncy Of 70 per cent Of the solid plate, is
to the triple-riveted butt joint with double
straps. which gives an efficiency of SIS per
cent of the solid plate.
Il am strongly in favor of requiring the
butt joint wherever possible, and l believe
that this office is the first to advocate such
REQUIRES me to give what is known as a
hydrostatic or external test to boilers, 1 do
not believe that this is a sufficient test un-
my deputies to go inside of every boiler and
make an internal or hammer test.
NO office feels the growth of st. Louis
more than mine. AS the business of the
manufacturer increases he calls on his
engineer for more steam. and the greatest
trouble that 1 have is keeping down the
pressure allowed the manufacturer on his
boilers.
engines call for higher pressure, so that the
steam may be more economically COM
pounded. The result is that have to
keep. sharp lookout, and particularly
watch the safety valve.
1.-The engineers render me every assist
ance and make their reports promptly and
accurately. You will notice that you never
lao Of lab
They hold the most responsible positions.
and yet they are the poorest paid of all
sponsible for the entire plant, and is under
a great strain both day and night,
THE life of a boiler varies greatly" Mr..
Branch answered. I'VE have several here
in st. Louis forty years old, and possibly
has been in actual service for ten or twelve
years. it should be closely watched.
"a boiler must stand an enormous daily
strain. as you can see when You. think of
the expansion and contraction which it un-
dergoes daily. Iron will exert a strain of
$50 pounds to the square inch for every de-
gree of temperature, and in firing up Snd
cooling off a boiler there will be a varia-
ton of at least go degrees in temperature;
pounds. the boiler is subjected to strain
Of "A 500 pounds or twenty-five and one-half
tons to tho square incn.
which is most injurious to boiler and
tests its durability. but there is also
other source of injury. namely. the forming
of scales on the inside of a boiler. which
corrodes the metal and results in a loss Of
energy.
These scales are deposits Of mud and
sediment in the water. and from the chem
ical composition of the water itself. An or
binary 1c1-horse-powe r boiler will evaporate
about 235 gallons of water every hour and
the deposit differs with localities and char
acter of the water.
WATER NOT HARD ON BOILER
1.-THE Mississippi River water is not as
hard on the boiler as might be supposed
Clear spring water, which usually contains
much more lime, does much more damage
to a boiler than even the muddy river wa
ter As a 15g-horse-power boiler will evap-
crate at least 10000 pounds of water in a
ten-hour day. and in a month, say 400 TONS
one can readily see what we have to con-
tend with in the way of sediment and
scales.
This sediment is the natural foe of all
boilers ,as ii eats into the steel pitting and
corrodes the plates. AS it is entirely on
the inside of the toiler, 1t makes 1t neces-
sary that the inspectors go inside SO that 4
careful examination can be made
IAN inspection of this kind is hard work
having its peculiar dangers, and the men
enrnged in it are improperly paid for the
class Of work they do and the danger in
volyed. The city pays its deputy inspectors
.arhe manholes through which they must