The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-22
FEEDING A ROr BOILER.
No Danger In Injecting water COpaously
Gays q Veteran Engineer.

Ma m0mRAH I'm mNAnNnHR MmNAR EORND nnouo
a.. V.,ss.n r,-,n..s
49, $3.50
TO 1HE EpIIoR OF IHE SCN-SWi l note
IN iHE Sun OF the other Gay MAJ my friend
ana former confrtre, ANGUS sinclair. has done
vnat ne could TO dispel tpe oehei stu held ny
some tnat u 10 very dangerous 10 inject water
into a hot boiler that Ia low.
" the practice menuoned were DANGEROUS
the mortality among engineers w~ild d"
large Tor the thins 10 constantly done IN every
part OF the world. ana always VIII oe
do not say cold water, but water as u comes
10 the eneineer heated 70 q greater OF lets
degree. Ihere 10 no cold water 10 De tounl
about q steam boiler. The connections, Feed
Pipe ana check valves are nearly AWAY
~ tne temperature OF me steam pressure
carried. so that the feed In the volume ~
which u Ia discharRed into the boiler Is very
far rom being cold IL varies from 10 -
lao degrees and upward when t~nJectors are
used to supply boilers. but even then ~
graduaI IN the rise Oh water IN a poher that
long before II has reached overheated plates
u Ia at the temperature OF the pressure.
Being lighter than the cooler water Rowing
In below. II goes TO the top and Is boiling unless
the IRE has been hauled. No cold water can
he deposited on or thrown on superheated
plates unless speciai devices are used 70 OBTAIN
the result.
Thelate Professor X. ~ Ihurston carried out
elaborate experiments Tor the nited states
Government after the ferryboat Westhelf
disaster, In which all the elements ATTENDING
IL were reproduced. but nothing Whatever
occurred beyond leakage OF seams ana riNets'
although cold water was pumped olrectly
over red hot plates and tubes or nues SIN
later, but a few years ago, the Manchester
tEnsland' Steam Users Association repro
duced the same conditions with the same
results. that il. no results at all. No explo-
sions no sudden rises OF pressure and no
collapses were noted,
Now since all this IL OF record. not to men
ton hundreds OF cases in daily practice where
saad has Moan ,urned ;nto hot boilera with m,
Ieeo mas oeen .uineu 'nto y, one ~.
accidents, H. II hard 10 make men OF long
experience feel that there IL any danger,
per &c. in IL.
rho,a q. ooa.;hI,,: ,hst rl.,a. NAV ho-
10, ,bs, ,hsv wuI NJ, hold the s,.,
bolts and the latter NAV draw out and let
the plates down, but this has never happened
W my eApeaHenoe' "n'on. me NV ms, 80,
more IMAM MY years OF runn,nk' ounoins anu
managing steam boilers of all types and sizes
txentv-nye / have never had a serious
49,, 10, "a 80 boen ~ son,o
tight places. where II / had not put in water
as fast Ms il would 90 in / should have done
lots of damage.
ON one occasion the head water tender on
a large steamer on which was assistant
With his hair on end. shouting. sOs. Mr.
Nh wv n' a "" e"u' ~ ~
watson theres not a drop OF wafer Roin
into the bilers. " and he plunged below again.
Ringing "All doors open and blowers on"
% ,bs ereroor I sIso nInrged down into ~,
W ~ ~ US, 800 ~
pump room ana nsd just got peiow the haiCt
when a stream OF water FIVE inches in diameter
struck me in the breast and almost knocked
a cock in the feed pipe and all the water that
should have gone into the boilers went into
bil9e. In was the work of an instant 10 ian
that Ming in it's place. and ali was we'll The
water tender came back In about half an hour
and told me that II was nearly twenty minutes
before he saw water in the glasses again
40 IN must have been pretty low The Tght
thing was done there were three 600 horse.
mower boilers with sjx Large furnaces unde,
forced draugbt IN an alright areroom with
ffty bounds steam on them and no Water in
sight or going into the boilers.