The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-12-26

inF" on the noor Of the ships lowest
hold.
The removal Of the last of the ball
last has made apparent just what
the nre did and did not DO. What "
did not do H. more remarkable than
, IS hat IL did Dozens. perhaps n hun
dred. three-inch planks on the bottom
~ the ship. resting on the very bot
tom steel framework OF the vessel.
have been charred into a black. brittle
mass. Not every one must be replaced.
but of this number all will have TO be
replaced In part. The old planks were
sappy Eastern pine They viii be re-
placed by Northwest pine. Not only the
floor but the sides. where lighter
weight battens had been put up, were
charred for many feet in places. But
In some places only small hole had
been burned through.
The reason for this was the use Of
the Clayton sulphur engine and its
pipes ramifying the entire ship like a
hot and cold water system in hotel,
When the fire started-to be exact
when the coal began to smoke. Cap
tain Graham started his boiler going
got up steam and started his sulphur
drum to work. BY the time the steam
was UP. the blue flames in the sulphur
drum had generated a great amount
of gas. which began to circulate
through a regular condensing coil to
lower the temperature. At fairly cool
temperature 1t entered the air pump,
which is operated on the fan or centri-
fugal plan, which drove the sulphur
gas into the discharge pipes. Thence 1t
went to every part of the ship desired.
By a very complete and almost COM
plex system of pipes and valves, the
whole thing is under the absolute con-
troll of the engineer. The sulphur
wherever It is released permeates every
nook and corner in search of oxygen
of the air. Immediately 1t finds the
oxygen of the air It produces with 1t
combination which makes life and
fire alike impossible. Rats and ver-
mine die and fires go out. Choked out
just as If a wet blanket were thrown
over it.
About seven per cent Is strong
enough for ordinary uses, although it
used to be considered that IA per cent
was the proper amount. A burette
shows the percentage and valves regu-
sulphur clogs the pipes with flakes like
SCOT. The scheme is practically new
one. Captain GrahaiA has had his
ship equipped with It but about two
years and 1t was about two years be-
fore that when it was first brought out.
The cleaning process is easier than
cleaning out boiler tubes. 1t naturally
reduces the rate of insurance on a ship
and IL it had not been for this sulphur
system, the captain could never have
controlled the burning coal as well as
he did for weeks and weeks before the
ship ever approached Manila Bay
| The coal he carried does not blaze
until it is heated to about 240 degrees
or thirty degrees above the boiling
! point of water but it heats very easi-
ly because it is so fine. Other Goals
blaze at lis degrees, little above blood
heat, others at 1856. 1t is presumed
that the very fine coal (Which is always
the kind that ignites spontaneously
gets packed so closely that there is no
circulation of air and spontaneous COM
| bustion ensues. 1t is curious fact
that large coal. coarse lumpy coal,
never takes fire. The coal the Phelps
had Is considered the worst kind OF
a coal cargo because it heats so easi-
ly. Another peculiar thing about the
accident was the fact that the fire was
J entirely confined to the starboard side