An Improved Apparatus for Purifying Feed Water and Carrying off Surface Impurities, also Scale that may become Detached from the Boller.
Year: 1888

page_text: An Improved Apparatus for Purifying Feed Water and Carrying off
Surface Impurities, also Scale that may become Detached from
the Boller.
We SILAS HERBERT MOSHER of 747 West Taylor Street, Engineer ROBERT
FORSYTH of 224 Marshfield Avenue Salesınan and THOMAS JOHN WHEELER of
112 S. Lincoln Street Pump Manufacturer all of Chicago in the County of Cook and
State of Illinois United States of America do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its primary object to provide improved means for clarifying
the feed-water introduced into steam boilers, and to thus prevent deposition of sedi-
ment and scale within the boiler. It also includes among its objects, as preferably
constructed, to provide improved means for carrying off surface impurities, and
particularly the scale that may be detached from the boiler and brought to the surfaco
of the water therein, either by itself or in conjunction with the means first mentioned
for clarifying the water as it is introduced. The first mentioned improvement may
also be employed without the second, if desired.
The nature of the invention will be understood from the following description and
the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 of the drawings illustrates a steam-boiler in vertical central longitudinal
section, having all my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of the
open funnel or mouth-piece located within the boiler and constructed with a dam,
over which the surface impurities may flow into the pipe leading from said mouth-
piece out of the boiler to the settling drum. Fig. 3 is a detail.
A is a steam-boiler, of which A' is the dome, and A* are the tubes.
B is a feed water pipe leading from a pump or preferably from a heater into the
boiler A desirably above the water-line therein, which water-line is represented by the
line a a.
The pipe B by preference passes in a horizontal direction above the water-line to a
point beneath the dome A¹ where it rises, as shown, the vertical extension being
lettered B. In this arrangement of the feed-pipe the upper end of the vertical
part B is open, and is provided with a flaring mouth or cup, B², over the edge

page_text: or rim of which the water is intended to be discharged in a relatively thin
body.
Cis a conical plate arranged over the bowl or wide mouth B³, with its larger
diameter downward, and provided about its lower edge with an inwardly-directed
flange C, the free edge c of which extends beneath the upper edge of the flaring
mouth B2, so that the water discharged from said mouth B2 will fall upon the shelf C
and will overflow at the edge c. Beneath the inverted cone C is arranged a conical
cup, D, opening upward and surrounding and supported by the vertical pipe B'. The
water falling from the edge c of the shelf descends into the cup D and finds its
escape over the edge of said cup into a similar but larger cup, E, beneath it, and also
surrounding and supported by the pipe B¹.
is a pipe leading. from the lowermost cup, E, at a point below its upper edge,
and forms part of a duct for carrying the water out of the boiler to a settling-chamber.
It is here shown in full lines as extending downwards to a point a few inches above
the water-line a a, where it delivers into a separate part, G, of such outflow pipe, and
in dotted lines as continuous with the pipe G. The lower end of the pipe F, when
separated from the pipe G, is desirably compressed, so as to give a relatively wide and
thin outlet, at its lower end, and the lower end of said pipe is also preferably curved
in the direction of the pipe G, into which it discharges. The pipe G is provided with
a flaring open end, G, arranged beneath the end of tho pipo in position to receive
the water discharged from the latter.
The pipe G, for the first object of my invention, may be indifferently located at or
above the water line a a, and may be continuous with the pipe F; but, having
reference to the second object of the invention-viz., to carry off the surface impurities
of the water in the boiler said pipe G will be located with its mouth G', desirably
in the position shown in Fig. 1, or partly below the water line a a.
In this case the
mouth G2 of the pipe G is widened laterally or in a horizontal direction and provided
with a dam G², having its upper edge, g, located a distance of an inch or so below the
water line a a and parallel therewith.
The pipe G discharges outside the boiler A into a vertical drum, H, having therein
a suspended filter, I, the bottom i, of which is perforated. The lower end of the
drum H discharges into a settling chamber, J, which is preferably of spherical form,
and is provided at its lowest point with a valved outlet pipe, J. From the upper
portion of the filter I a pipe, L, leads to the lower part of the boiler A.
The pipes G and L are provided with suitable valves between the boiler and the
drum, H, as shown, and in addition to the stop valve the pipe L is provided with a
pet-cock L', to discharge air.
The primary invention herein set forth proceeds upon the well-established fact that
the separation of the solids of water is promoted by heat, and the primary object of
the construction above described is to expose the admitted water to a higher heat than
that to which it is raised by an ordinary external heater before discharging it into tho
mass of water within the boiler. To this end the water is exposed repeatedly in thin
falling bodies in the steam space of the boiler as it descends from the rim of the
mouth B2 to the outlet f of the pipe F, the steam occupying the steam space of
the boiler in which these parts are located being of much higher temperature than the
water below it. As a consequence, when very impure water is introduced into
the boiler, it has been found that the water discharged by the pipe is thick with mud
or sediment, this having been demonstrated by an experiment consisting in the
attachment of a lateral branch F¹, to the pipe F leading out of the side of the dome,
as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.
It is to be noted that the employment of a series of overflow cups exposes the water
in thin sheets in its descent without spraying it, and therefore without spattering it
against the sides of the boiler or dome.
The drum H, having within it the smaller and concentric filter-shell I, presents an
annular outer space into which the pipe G discharges and in which the water descends
to the bottom of the filter.
The principal part of the solid matter carried by the water is here precipitated

page_text: and falls into the "mud-drum" or receptacle J, while the water rises through the
filter, where it is further clarified, and finally passes through the pipe Linto the
boiler. The pipe G being open to boiler pressure, the circulation is principally
effected by change of temperature in the settling drum H, except when the water-
line is below the dam G2, when of course it will be influenced by variation in head.
The circulation is found to be entirely satisfactory, even while the water-level in
the boiler is above the dam G; but it is thought to be promotive of such circu-
lation to incline the lower end of the pipe F, as shown, in order to give an impulse
to the water in the direction of the pipe G.
When the open mouth G¹ of the pipe G is arranged in the position shown partly
below the water line, any impurities upon the surface of the water will be drawn into
said pipe and deposited in the settling chamber H, J. By locating this mouth of the
pipe G beneath the dome it better gathers such floating impurities, because the
withdrawal of steam from the dome tends to produce a surface-current from all
directions toward this point. Location of the ascending pipo B' and its attachments
in the dome gives the advantage of a greater fall to the water and stronger impetus
thereto as it enters the pipe G. It is, however, to bo understood that the various
parts mentioned may be elsewhere located in the boiler, if desired, and the pipe B may
be without an upward extension, B', or may open downwardly.
It will be noticed that the pipe G is shown as being zigzag or deflected downwardly
and upwardly in a vertical plane between its mouth and the head of the boiler, and
that the descending sections are longer and more nearly horizontal than the ascending
sections. This construction, or probably the first descent located on the mouth-
piece G¹, is found in the practice to be promotive of better circulation, though a
straight pipe G works successfully.
The drawings not being made to a scale, we may add that in a fifty-horse-power
boiler having a thirty-six-inch dome we have made the cup E about fourteen inches
in diameter and the cup D about twelve inches in diameter and other parts in pro-
portion, substantially as shown, the space between the edgo or rim of the cup D and
the flange being about half an inch. The bell-mouth G¹ of the pipo G is about
six inches wide, and the pipes are one and a half inch in diameter.
We prefer to make the mud-chamber J sperical in form, with the outlet at its lowest
point for the purpose of facilitating the work of blowing it out. The chamber H
should also be of conical construction at its lower end for the same purpose and to
better conduct the precipitate into the chamber J.
The spherical form of the mud-chamber J enables the same to be made of cast-iron,
and at the same time of suitable strength, while it gives both the narrow neck at tho
top for connection with the conical bottom of the filter-chamber H and ample interior
capacity, together with a hopper-shaped bottom, to facilitate the discharge of mud
therefrom by simply blowing off.
The first object of our invention will obviously be attained if the pipe G be a more
direct continuation of the pipo F; but to attain the second object also it is needful to
make it with a separate mouth at the water-line of the boiler, substantially as shown.
Plainly, the pipe & may be separately used as a skimmer without using the inlet pipe
shown or (while using such inlet-pipe and its attachments) in connection with a
pipo, F, leading to the settling chamber independently of the pipo G-as, for
example, by prolongation of the branch of the pipe F. (shown in dotted lines).
The dam g, or its equivalent wide and horizontal bottom of the mouth G¹, sub-
merged a short distance only below the surface of the water, is favourable to a more
effective skimming of the water than the relatively narrow and more deeply submerged
openings for such pipes heretofore employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. The combination, with a steam boiler, of a feed-water inlet pipe having its
delivery end open in the steam-space of the boiler, two or more open cups arranged

page_text: to successively receive the water from the feed-pipe and to discharge the same by
overflow, an outflow pipe leading from the lowermost of said cups out of the boiler,
a settling-chamber connected with said outflow pipe, and a pipe leading from the
settling-chamber back into the boiler, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination, with a boiler, of an inlet feed-water pipe having its delivery
end directed upwardly and provided with a bell-mouth, a superposed hood provided
with an inner annular shelf at its lower margin, a cup, as D, placed below the shelf,
a subjacent cup, as E, a pipe leading from said cup E and prolonged so as to convey
the water from said cup E out of the boiler, a settling-chamber into which said outflow
pipe delivers, and a return pipe leading from the settling-chamber back to the boiler,
substantially as described.
3. The combination, with a boiler, of a feed-water inlet-pipo having its delivery end
open in the steam-space of the boiler, two or more open cups arranged to successively
receive the water from the feed-pipe and to discharge the same by overflow, a pipe
leading downward from the lowermost of said cups, a separate prolongation of said
overflow pipe leading out of the boiler and having its receiving end at the normal
water-line of the boiler, a settling-chamber connected with said prolongation of the
outflow pipe, and a pipe leading from the settling-chamber back into the boiler.
4. The combination, with a steam-boiler, of a settling-chamber comprising an
upright outer chamber, H, a spherical receptacle, J, below said chamber Hand
connected with the bottom of the latter, a filter supported in the upper end of the
chamber H, a pipe leading from the boiler to the chamber H exterior for the filter,
a return pipe leading from the filter to the boiler, and a discharge-pipe leading from
the bottom of the spherical chamber J, substantially as described.
5. The combination, with a steam-boiler an external settling-chamber, and a return
pipe leading from said settling-chamber to the boiler, of an outflow pipe leading from
the water line of the boiler to the settling-chamber, the said outflow pipe being
provided with an open mouth located at the water-level and bent in a vertical plane
so that portions thereof have an ascending and other portions a descending direction,
substantially as shown.
6. The combination with a steam boiler, an external settling-chamber, and an
outflow pipe leading to said settling-chamber, of a mouth applied to said outflow pipe,
which mouth is relatively broad and has its lower edge horizontal and located slightly
below the normal water-level of the boiler, and an induction-pipe arranged to deliver
into said open mouth of the outflow-pipe, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.