IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING BOILERS WITH WATER
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING BOILERS WITH WATER."
A communication.
Sealed the 19th October 1858, and dated the 11th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th June 1858.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING BOILERS WITH
WATER," to be as follows:-
Steam boiler feed regulators have been contrived in which by the rise or
fall of the water in the boiler more or less steam was admitted to a metallic
cylinder or vessel, which was thus caused to contract or expand, the said
vessel being so connected with the inlet cock of the feed pump, as to regulate
Such
the feed in accordance with the height of the water in the boiler.
arrangement has not however been found to be reliable or safe, owing to the
various accidental circumstances which may impede and clog the pumps. A
similar device has also been proposed as a safety indicator of the level of the

page_text: water within the boiler, the expanding tube or vessel being caused to sound
an alarm when the water reaches a level below which it would not be safe for
it to descend. Such contrivances, however, unaccompanied by any method of
regulating the feed pumps has also been found to be of no avail, as the
attendant is constantly called upon to alter his pumps as the wants of the
boiler may vary.
The present Invention has for its object, firstly, the regulation of the pumps
to the exact requirements of the boiler; secondly, should the pumps fail to
do their duty, or from any cause whatever cease to act, an alarm is sounded,
and thus the attention of the engineer will be called to the condition of his
pumps. To accomplish this end is the object of the apparatus which forms
the subject of the present Invention.
Two metallic expansion steam-tight vessels 1 and 2 are mounted upon a
suitable stand and communicate with the boiler, one end of the vessel 1 is
secured to the stand by a pin, the other end being attached to a lever. The
vessel 2 is supported at one end by another pin, which passes into or through
the stand, and at the other end it is attached to the end of a second lever.
The pins are the fulcra of the two levers. The upper vessel 1 is placed with
its centre line on or near the level at which it is desirable that the water shall
stand in the boiler. The vessel 2 is to be placed beneath the other, or at a
level below which it would not be safe for the water in the boiler to descend.
Between the upper part or steam space of the boiler and the upper vessel, a
communication is opened through a bent pipe, and from the opposite end of
this vessel 1 to the vessel 2 passes a pipe, in which are one or more turns or
coils. From the opposite end of the vessel 2 passes a bent or syphon pipe to
the feed pipe of the boiler. As the vessel 1 expands, the lever to which it is
attached moves around its fulcrum, and as it is connected with the valves or inlet
cock of the feed pump, the amount of water fed to the boiler will be pro-
portionate to the expansion of the vessel. The second vessel being firmly
attached to the stand, and at the other end connected with its lever, it will be
evident that in proportion as it expands, this lever is thrown forward, and it is
60 connected with the valve of a steam whistle, that on the vessel 2 expanding
to a certain point, the whistle is sounded.
The apparatus is so arranged that when the water is at its proper level in
the boiler, the upper vessel or tube shall be about half filled with water; the
upper half of this vessel will then be filled with steam entering by the pipe
from the boiler.
af the water rise in the boiler and in the vessel 1 above its proper level

page_text: this vessel will contract longitudinally and the feed will be diminished; if, on
the contrary, the level of the water in the boiler descends below its proper.
level, the excess of steam within the vessel will cause it to expand and move
the lever, and the feed will be increased. This vessel thus acts as a constant
regulator to the feed which can never fail so long as the pump with its valves
and water passages remains in order and unobstructed.
A pump valve may however be raised by a chip, or the pump may be
rendered unfaithful by other slight causes, in which case the apparatus above
described, if depended upon, would prove a source of danger instead of safety;
to meet this case and to render the apparatus really a safety apparatus, the
under vessel 2 is employed. Should now the pumps fail to act properly, and
the water continue to descend until the steam reaches the lower vessel, the
expansion of this vessel will open the valve and sound the whistle, thus calling
the attention of the engineer to his pump. This apparatus thus combines in
one. an efficient pump regulator and. a watchful "tell-tale," ready to give
notice should the pump, from any cause, prove unfaithful.
By causing the syphon pipe to enter the feed pipe, it receives cool water
from the pipe instead of hot water from the boiler. By this arrangement
the apparatus is caused to act with more efficiency and safety than it would.
were the hot water of the boiler to flow into it.
It is evident that in lieu of placing the expansion vessels directly over each
other and connecting the two together, they may each be connected with the
boiler by an independent set of steam and water pipes without departing from
the principle of the Invention. It is essential, however, that the two vessels
be placed at different levels, so that they may only act in succession; the
uppermost one being employed to regulate the pumps, and the lower one to
give the alarm as described.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed:
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
.of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
5 Patent, bearing date, the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our. Lord

page_text: 1858, in the twenty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton,. Her
special license that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR SUPPLYING BOILERS WITH WATER," being a communication from abroad
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2, a rear view; Fig. 3, an end elevation ;
Fig. 4, a horizontal section through the expansion vessel, and its supporting
stand. Steam boiler feed regulators have been contrived, in which, by the
rise or fall of the water in the boiler, more or less steam was admitted to a
metallic cylinder or vessel, which was thus caused to contract or expand,
the said vessel being so connected with the inlet cock of the feed pump,
as to regulate the feed in accordance with the height of the water in the
boiler.
Such arrangement has not, however, been found to be reliable or safe, owing
to the various accidental circumstances which may impede and clog the pumps.
A similar device has also been proposed as a safety indicator of the level of the
water within the boiler, the expanding tube or vessel being caused to sound
an alarm when the water reaches a level below which it would not be safe
for it to descend. Such contrivance, however, unaccompanied by any method
of regulating the feed pumps, has also been found to be of no avail, as the
attendant is constantly called upon to alter his pumps, as the wants of the
boiler may vary

page_text: An apparatus has also been contrived for this purpose, in which, as the
water in the boiler descends, a metallic tube is caused to expand by the
entrance of steam, and by its expansion sound a whistle, and admit water from
a reservoir to flow into the boiler.
But these contrivances are separate and distinct from this Invention, which
has for its object, 1stly, the regulation of the pumps to the exact requirements
of the boiler; 2ndly, should the pumps fail to do their duty, or from any
cause whatever cease to act to sound an alarm, and thus call the attention of
the engineer to the condition of his pumps.
To accomplish this end, the Inventor has contrived the apparatus which
forms the subject of the present Invention, and which I will now proceed to
describe in detail. In the said Drawings A is a steam boiler; B, the feed
water-pipe leading from a pump or other feeding apparatus to the boiler; E is
a stand which is supported upon the columns K, and carries two metallic
expansion steam-tight vessels C and D; one end of the vessel C is secured to
the stand E by a pin a, the other end being supported by a lever F; the
vessel D is supported at one end by the pin b, which passes into or through
the stand, and at the other end it is attached to the end of a lever F²; the
pin b is the fulcrum of the lever F, and the pin a, the fulcrum of the lever F.
The vessel C is placed with its center line on or near the level at which it is
desirable that the water shall stand in the boiler; the vessel D is to be placed
beneath the other, or at a level below which it would not be safe for the water
in the boiler to descend. Between the upper part or steam space of the boiler
and the vessel C a communication is opened through the bent pipe H, and
from the opposite end of this vessel to the vessel D, passes the pipe G, in
which are one or more turns or coils c; from the opposite end of the vessel
D, passes the bent tube I to the feed pipe B; as the vessel C'expands, the
lever F moves around its fulcrum b in the direction of its arrow; and it is so
connected with the valves or inlet cock of the feed pump, that the amount of
water fed to the boiler shall be proportionate to the expansion of the vessel C; the
vessel D being firmly attached to the stand a and b, and at the other end
connected with the lever F, in proportion as it expands, this lever is thrown
in the direction of its arrow, and it is so connected with the valve of a steam
whistle, that on the vessel D expanding to a certain point the whistle is
sounded. The pipes H and G are bent or coiled to allow of the free expansion
of the vessels C and D, and the pipe I is bent downwards at d (Fig. 3) to
prevent the water in the vessels C and D, from being heated by any reflux
from the boiler into the feed pipe B.

page_text: OPERATION.
The apparatus above described is so arranged that when the water is at its
proper level in the boiler, the vessèl or tube C shall be about half filled with
water; the upper half of this vessel will then be filled with steam entering by
the pipe H. If, now, the water rise in the boiler and in the vessel C, above
its proper level, this vessel will contract longitudinally and the feed will be
diminished; if, on the contrary, the level of the water in the boiler descend
below its proper level, the excess of steam within the vessel C will cause it
to expand and the feed will be increased. This vessel thus acts as a constant
regulator to the feed, which can never fail so long as the pump with its valves
and water passages remains in order and unobstructed. A pump valve may,
however, be raised by a chip, or the pump may be rendered unfaithful by other
slight causes, in which case the apparatus above described, if depended upon,
would prove a source of danger instead of safety; to meet this case and to
render the apparatus really a safety apparatus the vessel D is employed.
Should now the pumps fail to act properly, and the water continue to descend
until the steam reaches the vessel D, the expansion of this vessel will open
the valve, and sound the whistle, thus calling the attention of the engineer to
his pump.
This apparatus thus combines in one an efficient pump regulator
and a watchful "tell-tale," ready to give notice should the pump from any
cause prove unfaithful. By causing the pipe I to enter the feed pipe B, it
receives cool water from the pipe instead of hot water from the boiler, by
which the apparatus is caused to act with more efficiency and safety than it
would were the hot water of the boiler to flow into it. It is evident that in
lieu of placing the expansion vessels C and D directly over each other, and
connecting the two together by the pipe G, they may each be connected with
the boiler by an independent set of steam and water pipes, without departing
from the principle of this Invention. It is essential, however, that the two
vessels be placed at different levels, that they may only act in succession, the
uppermost one being employed to regulate the pumps, and the lower one to
give the alarm, as described.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood, that under the
above recited Letters Patent, I claim, the combination of a feed water appa-
ratus controlled by contraction and expansion, with an expansion tell-tale
placed below the desired water level, and above the level to which it would
not be safe for the water in the boiler to descend.

page_text: 2nd, the within-described arrangement of the vessels C and D as applied
and connected with the feed pumps and steam whistle for the purpose of
regulating the pump and sounding an alarm, as set forth.
3rd, I also claim connecting the pipe I with the boiler by means of the feed
pipe B, as set forth, for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON.
(L.S.)