AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR OPERATING, AND REGULATING THE FEED OF STEAM-BOILERS, WHICH APPARATUS IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Friedrich Hermann Felix Engel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th September 1883.
A communication to me by Wilhelm Ritter of Altona in the German Empire
FRIEDRICH HERMANN FELIX ENGEL. Civil Engineer, and Patent Agent, in the
City of Hamburg, Germany, "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR OPERATING, AND
REGULATING THE FEED OF STEAM-BOILERS, WHICH APPARATUS IS ALSO APPLICABLE
TO OTHER PURPOSES."
the German Empire
A communication to me by Wilhelm Ritter of Altona in
This Invention relates to an improved apparatus for operating and regulating
the feed of steam boilers, which apparatus is also applicable to other purposes and
has to be connected with a steam boiler or with a steam condenser and can
be used for the following purposes; firstly for automatically bringing in as well as
out of action, feed pumps and other appliances used for feeding boilers secondly
for regulating automatically the level of water of condensing vessels thirdly as a
water gauge for steam boilers and finally it can be applied to steam boilers instead
of gauge-cocks now commonly in use.
With this invention, no float or float gauge of any kind is required as is the
case in almost all other apparatus used for the same object. The disadvantages
and unsafe action to which steam floats are subject are so numerous and well
known to practical Engineers that it must be considered a great improvement to
be able to dispense with the same
The apparatus consists of a closed hollow vessel that communicates by one two
or more flexible and bent pipes with the water of a boiler or of a condensing
vessel, as long as the level of the water is above the low water mark whilst as
soon as the level of water falls beneath this mark, one or more of these pipes
communicate with the steam of the boiler or the condenser. The effect is, that as
long as all the ends of the tube dip into the water, the hollow vessel is filled with
water by the pressure of the steam acting on the water, whilst as soon as one of
the tube ends is freed from the water, steam rushes through this tube into the
vessel and forces out the water. The vessel (that may according to circumstances
be of any convenient size) is consequently filled with water as long as its level is
..מ

page_text: above the normal mark and filled with steam as soon and as long as this level is
underneath the normal mark.
As the weight of the vessel filled with water is greater than when filled with
steam it will sink or be lowered in the first case and rise in the latter case
providing the communicating pipes be flexible enough to allow of such movements
of the vessel and this rise and fall of the vessel is applied to operate feed pumps by
opening and closing a valve or cock of the steam inlet connected to the vessel by
means of levers or other suitable mechanical arrangements, or it may, if the
apparatus is attached to a condensing vessel be used to open and close a tap or stop
cock that allows condensed water to flow off as soon as the vessel descends.
The rise and fall of the vessel compared to a fixed scale, will show the water-
mark of the boiler to be either above or beneath low water and can consequently
at same time be used as a gange instead of gauge cocks.
If only one .communicating pipe between the airtight vessel, and boiler or
condenser is applied this tube toust terminate at the level of the water mark, but
the removing of the water out of the vessel by the entering steam will not be done
as fast, as if two or more tubes are used. In the case of one tube, this latter must
be attached to the bottom part of the vessel. The weight of the vessel may more
or less be counterbalanced by springs or weights.
A hollow, closed, and air tight vessel is attached to a steam boiler by pipes of
which the one reaches down into the water below the low-water mark while the
other terminates at the level of this mark. As long as the water is above the mark
the air tight vessel is by pressure of steam filled and kept filled with water the
weight of which forces said airtight vessel downward in consequence whereof a
valve in connection therewith is closed while the vessel ascends and opeus the
valve as soon as the level of water sinks underneath the mark.
A cock or tap is shown in connection with the airtight vessel and a counter-
weight is provided to partly balance the weight of the said air tight vessel and a
spring is used for this latter purpose.
According to another arrangement the apparatus may be applied to a steam
condenser. As soon as the level of water rises up to the mouth of the second tube,
the air tight vessel descends and opens a tap provided at the bottom. Condensed
water is discharged until its level falls underneath the mouth or opening of the
Becond tube after which steam enters the air tight vessel through said tube and
forces the water out of the vessel back into the condenser and the air tight vessel
rises and recloses the said tap.