IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM
Year: 1873

page_text: ·LETTERS PATENT to John Walker McCarter, of the City Saw Mille,
Foyle Street, Londonderry, in the County of Londonderry, Ireland,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING
STEAM."
Sealed the 24th February 1874, and dated the 4th October 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Walker McCartor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 4th October 1878.
I, JOHN WALKER MCCARTER, of the City Saw Mills, Foyle Street,
Londonderry, in the County of Londonderry, Ireland, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS: FOR
CONDENSING STEAM," to be as follows, that is to say:—
This Invention relates to further improvements of a simplifying
character in the present applicant's steam condensing apparatus, various
modifications of which are described in the Specifications of Letters
Patent, Nos. 1222, of 1869; 1968, of 1870; and 8890, of 1872.

page_text: The apparatus comprises an upper and a lower compartment, the
discharge from the former to the latter having hitherto been by a valvo
or valves opening downwards; by the present Invention howover the
valve or valves between the upper and lower compartments are arranged
so as to tend to close by their own weight, or at least so that their own
weight does not act in opposition to their closing.
In one modification a rubber or metallic valve is applied on the upper
side of a horizontal valve grating, placed sufficiently above the bottom
of the compartment for the water to get access to the under side of the
grating; and over this valve there is a hood or casing with one or more
passages from it to lead the water rising up through tho valve laterally
and downwards into the lower compartment, and by preference to
the bottom thereof.
The valve gratings or seats may be inclined or vertical instead of
horizontal, provided that the rubber or other valves are fitted to them
so as not to tend to open by their weight when not otherwise acted on.
The discharge valve or valves from the lower compartment may be
arranged in the same way as that or those from the upper compartment.
The present Invention also comprises the dispensing with the
admission of air into the lower compartment, and with the valvo
hitherto provided for such admission, the herein-before improved
arrangement of the main valves rendering this simplification possiblo
and advantageous.
When the lower compartment is to be discharged steam is admitted
into it, such steam being of a pressure very slightly above that of the
atmosphere, and being obtained either from the boiler, through what is
known as a reducing valve, or from the exhaust pipe of a steam engino,
when the exhaust steam is of slightly greater than atmospheric pressure.
The steam thus admitted into the lower compartment is, as formerly,
condensed by the subsequent injection of a small quantity of water, so
as to bring about the discharge of the upper compartment into the lower
one.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Walker McCarter in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WALKER MCCARTER, of the City Saw Mills, Foyle Street, Londonderry,
in the County of Londonderry, Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Walker McCarter, Her special
licence, that I, the said John Walker McCarter, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Walker McCarter, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Walker McCarter, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, 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 John Walker McCarter, do hereby.
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner, the samo
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to further improvements of a simplifying
character in my steam condensing apparatus, various modifications of
which are described in the Specifications of Letters Patent, Numbers
1222, of 1869; 1968, of 1870; and 3890, of 1872,

page_text: -
I have improved the arrangement of the valves, and I have dispensed
with a valve which in my earlier arrangements was used for admitting
air into the lower compartment of the condenser.
I have also adapted my method of working condensers to a surface
condenser, and also for acting in connection with a separate surface
condenser on board a steam ship.
And in order that_my_ said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append two Sheets of
explanatory Drawings-to-be-herein-after referred to, and representing_
various modifications of my improved arrangements. In these Drawings
the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts
wherever they are repeated.
Figure 1 on Sheet 1 of the Drawings is a sido elevation; and Figures
3 and 4 on Sheet 2 are vertical and horizontal sections of my improved
condensing apparatus às arranged for land engines..
---The-apparatus.comprises.an_upper_compartment 1 and a lower com-
partment 2, the discharge from the former down into the latter having
hitherto been by a valve or valves opening downwards; by my present
Invention however the valve (3) between the upper and lower com-
partments 1, 2, is arranged so as to tend to close by its own weight (or
at least so that its own weight does not act in opposition to its closing).
-
In the modification shown a rubber disc valve 3 is applied on the upper
side of a horizontal valve grating 4 arranged so that the water from the
upper compartment 1 has access to the under side of it by two passages 5,
and over this valve. 3 thero is a hood or casing 6 with passages 7,
indicated by dotted lines in Figures 3 and 4, to lead the water rising up
through the valve laterally and downwards into the lower compart-
ment 2.
The valve gratings or seats (4) may be inclined or vertical instead of
horizontal, provided that the rubber or other valves are fitted to them so
as not to tend to open by their weight when not otherwise acted on.
.
The discharge valve or valves from the lower compartment 2 may be
arranged in the same way as that or those from the upper compart-
ment 1. In the Drawing however (Figure 3) there is shown a simple
inclined grating 8, having on its outer and upper sido a rubber valve 9,
secured by its upper edge to the top of the grating. <
:

page_text: By my present Invention the admission of air into the lower com-
partment 2 being dispensed with, which simplification is rendered the
more practicable and advantageous in consequence of the better action
of the main valves 3 and 9; there are only two inlet valves into the
said lower compartment, water being admitted by one pipe 10 and
valve 11, and steam by another pipo 12, also having a valvo similar to
the water valve 11, and both being of the equilibrium kind shown full
size and in section in Figure 5 along with its seat.
The water and steam valves are worked by rods 13, 14, which pass
through stuffing boxes 15 and through guides 16, and which are formed
with slotted blocks 17 at their upper ends.
"
Cams or wipers 18 on a horizontal shaft 19 act inside the blocks 17,
and raise and lower the valve rods 18, 14, as the shaft rotates. This
cam shaft 19 is driven by the engine, except at starting, being fitted
with a pulley 20 to receive a driving belt; and it has also on it a hand
wheel 21 for turning it so as to clear the condenser before starting the
engine. The cam shaft 19 may rotate once for every ten strokes of the
engine, but the proper speed will depend on the size of the condenser
relatively to the engine. The steam admitted by the pipe 12 into the
lower compartment is reduced to a pressure very slightly above that of
the atmosphere by first passing through a reducing valve of any suitablo
known kind; and this steam may be either taken from the boiler or
from the exhaust pipe of the steam engine when steam can be got from
the latter of a sufficient pressure. The steam thus admitted into the
lower compartment is, as formerly, condensed by the subsequent
injection of a small quantity of water by the pipe 10, and this causes
the water in the upper compartment 1 to pass down into the lower
compartment 2, and thereafter when steam is next admitted by the
pipe 12 the intermediate valve 3 being closed and the pressure in the
lower compartment 2 being made at least equal to atmospheric pressure
the water falls out of that compartment by the valve 9 into a waste
passage.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal vertical section showing my method of
working a surface condenser. The steam from the engine is passed
through a number of tubes 22 fixed across the upper compartment 1 in
tube-plates-23, 24, which partition off two-compartments 25, 26, into
one of which the exhaust steam is admitted, whilst from the other the
water of condensation passes off by a pipo 27.

page_text: The tubes 22 are kept cold by cold water falling on them in spray
from a perforated plate 28; and this water falls periodically from the
upper compartment 1 through the valve 3 into the lower compartment 2
by precisely the same agencies as those operating in the modification.
shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, hercin-before described. .
From the top of the compartment 26, from which the condensation.
water passes off, a pipe 29 passes down to the lower compartment 2, its
mouth in the latter being provided with a rubber valve, which opens
when there is a vacuum in the compartment 2, and allows any air from
the condensation water to be removed.
Figure 2 on Sheet 2 of the Drawings is a transverse vertical section
showing the manner in which I apply my condensing arrangements in
connection with marine engines.
•
."
5
10
The engines which are partially indicated in the Drawing are of the
inverted cylinder kind commonly used for driving the screw propeller, 15
and have-a-surfaco-condenser-30, the circulating water_for_which enters
from the sea by a pipo 31. The circulating water on leaving the surface
condenser 30 passes by a pipe 32 up to a two-compartment condenser 1, 2,
of the kind herein-before described, as for directly acting on the exhaust
steam of an engine. This apparatus 1, 2, is placed above the sea level, 20
so that the water from its lower compartment 2 may casily drain from it,.
there being for this purpose two pipes 33, shown, and leading one-to.
each side of the ship so as to insure drainago notwithstanding rolling or
inclination of the ship to one side or the other. An air pipe 29 is led
from the surface condenser 30 to withdraw air from that condenser, and 25
being led up inside the pipo 82 any steam tending to pass up with the
air becomes condensed and the water runs back.
:
A donkey engine 34 is shown for getting the condensing apparatus
into working condition before starting the main engines, but when the
latter are working continuously the cam shaft. 19 may be driven from 30
thom.
..
In the event of the surface condenser 30. getting out of order a valve 35
on the water inlet pipe 31 may be closed and a valve 36 bo opened on a
branch pipe 37 connecting the steam space of the condenser 30 with tho
pipe 32 leading to the upper condenser 1, 2. The exhaust steam of the 35
engines may then be condensed in the apparatus 1, 2, as in an ordinary.
"